The Lummi are a Native American tribe living on ancestral land in NW Washington State. Known as ‘People of the Sea’ the Lummi celebrate this heritage in many ways, especially through the annual Lummi Water Festival.
A Home for a Lummi Attorney With Strong Cultural Roots
Our client, a practicing attorney, is a member of the Lummi people. Her building site was located on a parcel of newly subdivided land across a small shoreline road. The design brief included a need for a large home office that was clearly separate from the residential quarters.
Ensuring Ocean Views Despite Site Constraints
Although the site was near the shore, the lot was second in line from the water. Any future construction on that neighboring lot would obscure those important ocean views – something we wanted to offer at all costs.
Honoring Lummi Architectural Tradition
The Lummi architectural tradition centers around the Long House. These structures are where important tribal affairs are conducted and where cultural events are held. The longhouse is built with a post and beam structure and covered by a skin of horizontal wood planks.
A Curved Long House Form to Capture the Sea
Inspired by this iconic building type, we began our design process by drawing a long, narrow structure – mimicking typical Long House proportions. We then curved the plan in order to ‘see’ around the neighboring home. Floor to ceiling windows were placed at each end of the house – offering unbroken views of the sea from the major spaces, including the great room and master bedroom on the private side, and the professional office on the business side. In this way we were able to honor the historic connection of the Lummi people to water and the sea in a state-of-the-art home whose integrated technology would support an uncompromising work from home experience.
